Chapter 10 - The File Ryan Could Never Afford to Lose
By the time we left the hotel lounge, the wedding was over.
Not officially.
There had been no dramatic announcement from the officiant.
No final apology.
No formal cancellation speech.
But the flowers were being taken down, guests were leaving, and the bride had disappeared into an upstairs suite.
Ryan's perfect day had collapsed.
And he had run.
Detective Morales met us near the lobby.
She clarified that Ryan had not been under arrest or formally detained when he left.
He had refused to continue the interview voluntarily, and officers were now working to locate him in connection with the reported assault and the broader investigation.
"What about the airport?" I asked.
"We've notified the appropriate agencies of our interest in speaking with him."
"Can you stop him?"
"We need lawful grounds for specific actions."
I knew she wasn't trying to be difficult.
But every minute Ryan remained free felt dangerous.
Rebecca placed a hand on my shoulder.
"James, focus on what we can prove."
Emily looked toward Lily, who was sitting beside Mrs. Patterson.
"I won't lose her again."
"You don't have to leave with Ryan," Rebecca said.
"But we need a safe, lawful plan for Lily's temporary care while the court reviews the situation."
Emily nodded.
"I'll do whatever it takes."
Then my phone rang.
An unknown number.
I answered.
"James Carter?"
"Speaking."
"This is Daniel Brooks. I work in forensic accounting."
I recognized the name.
Emily had hired him shortly before her disappearance.
"Mr. Brooks?"
"Emily told me you'd been trying to find her."
My pulse quickened.
"Do you know where Ryan is?"
"No. But I know why he's running."
I stepped away from the others.
"Tell me."
"Ryan's company is about to collapse."
"How bad?"
"Much worse than you think."
Brooks explained that he had spent months reviewing corporate filings, property records, and documents Emily had managed to preserve.
Ryan wasn't merely hiding money.
He was hiding a network of financial transactions involving borrowed funds, false invoices, and properties whose values had been substantially overstated.
Several investors had been told their money was secured by assets worth millions more than they actually were.
"How much money?" I asked.
Brooks hesitated.
"Potentially over eighteen million dollars in exposure across the entities we're reviewing."
I leaned against the wall.
"Eighteen million?"
"And there may be more."
My mind raced.
"Where did the money go?"
"Some went into developments. Some into personal expenses. A substantial amount moved through companies linked to Margaret Price."
I looked toward the elevators.
Vanessa's mother.
Again.
"Can you prove it?"
"I can document the transactions. Proving criminal intent will require investigators."
"Why didn't you come forward sooner?"
"I did."
I froze.
"What?"
"Eleven months ago. Emily and I prepared a report."
"To whom?"
"Federal investigators."
My heart hammered.
"Then why wasn't Ryan arrested?"
"Reports aren't the same as convictions. The investigation was still developing when Emily disappeared."
I looked at the silver drive in Rebecca's hand.
"What did Emily know?"
Brooks sighed.
"She discovered Ryan had forged documents related to her family's trust."
"Yes."
"But she also discovered he had used Lily's identity in a financial arrangement."
I went completely still.
"What?"
"A custodial investment account was listed as part of a transaction."
"How much?"
"Nearly six hundred thousand dollars."
I closed my eyes.
Ryan had taken from his wife.
He'd tried to take her freedom.
Now I was learning he'd used his daughter's name too.
"Did Emily know?"
"She found out shortly before confronting him."
I looked across the lobby.
Lily was sitting beside Mrs. Patterson, carefully adjusting the ear on her stuffed rabbit.
She had no idea what the adults around her were discussing.
She still believed her biggest problem was whether Mommy might disappear again.
I swallowed.
"Mr. Brooks, send everything you have directly to the investigators and Rebecca."
"Already arranged."
"One more thing."
"Yes?"
"Why does Ryan need to destroy the evidence now?"
Brooks paused.
"Because the final pieces are being verified."
"What pieces?"
"The original loan documents."
I frowned.
"Where are they?"
"That's what we've been trying to establish."
I looked toward Emily.
She was speaking quietly with Rebecca.
"Maybe Emily knows."
"She might."
The call ended.
I approached my sister.
"Emily, Brooks says Ryan used Lily's name in a financial deal."
Her expression didn't change.
"I know."
I stared at her.
"You knew?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
She looked down.
"Because I couldn't bear saying it out loud."
I softened my voice.
"Em, none of this is your doing."
She wiped her eyes.
"Ryan opened that account when Lily was born. He told me it would help pay for college."
I nodded.
"I remember."
"He used it to make a loan transaction look better than it was. The funds didn't belong in that deal."
My fists tightened.
Emily reached into her purse.
"There was an original agreement."
"Where?"
"In Ryan's office."
"He'll destroy it."
She shook her head.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because I took it before he caught me."
I stared.
"Where did you put it?"
Emily looked toward Lily.
"Somewhere he would never think to look."
I remembered the purple box.
"The moon?"
"No."
She smiled sadly.
"Ryan searched that room because he thought I hid financial records there."
"Then where?"
Emily swallowed.
"In the only place he never entered."
I waited.
"My mother's house."
Our mother had died five years earlier.
Her little farmhouse outside Colorado Springs had remained empty ever since.
Emily and I jointly inherited it.
We visited occasionally.
But Ryan hated the place.
He called it an old-fashioned money pit.
He'd refused to spend a single weekend there after our wedding celebrations years earlier.
"Emily, why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I didn't know whether Ryan was monitoring your calls."
She took a small brass key from her purse.
"There's a metal box beneath the floorboards in Mom's sewing room."
I stared at the key.
And remembered the room.
The old wooden floor.
The blue curtains.
The smell of lavender.
Our mother sitting beside the window, sewing Halloween costumes for us when we were children.
Emily pressed the key into my hand.
"Everything started there, James. With the trust Mom wanted to protect."
I closed my fingers around it.
"I'll get it."
Rebecca immediately shook her head.
"Not alone. And not without coordinating with investigators."
I looked at her.
"Ryan could already be on his way."
"Then we move quickly and lawfully."
We arranged for investigators to accompany us.
But before we left, Emily took my arm.
"Jimmy."
"What?"
"If Ryan gets there first, don't fight him."
I tried to smile.
"I won't."
She shook her head.
"Promise me."
I looked into her eyes.
"Why?"
Emily's voice dropped.
"Because there's something in that box Ryan doesn't know I found."
"What?"
May you like
She hesitated.
Then whispered, "Proof that my disappearance wasn't his first attempt to get rid of someone."
